also, as a penguins fan. Max Talbot is offically a flyer. Kind of weird how 2 goals in game 7 of the SC Finals to win the cup is all but a distant distant memory once he puts on the f l y e r s (i had to spell it that way, for some reason when i type flyers, it shows up as Capitals) jersey and begins scoring goals against the penguins.

I know 5 years is a long time for a contract, but damn i would take him over Kennedy any day.

llipgh2 wrote:HCDB told Dave Molinari after the game he will use the 5 forward powerplay in the playoffs.

Why he is so stuck on something this doesn't work is beyond comprehension.

I avoided the board today, but seeing this is enraging. It's not like we don't have defensemen deserving to be out there. Namely Letang, who, if healthy, would likely be 2nd in NHL defenseman scoring behind Karlsson.

And it's not like the PP has looked good with 5 fowards on it.

Then you flip to the Flyers PP and watch them zig zag it across the ice for an open net goal. If you're going to put the talent out there, let them use it to do something like that instead of getting in each other's way and blasting shots into the defensemen.

Also, I will throw out some TK hate. How many times did he take a shot from way out wide, miss the net, and clear the offensive zone today? That is a pet peeve of mine when I play and yell at players who do it, and TK did it probably 4 or 5 times today.

The sad part about today was that they got 5 goals with MAF in net, and he could have prevented maybe 1 one of them (the 1st). Tough to blame anyone but the team for the rest.

Lastly, I loved the Vitale hit at the end of the game, understood why the Flyers got pissed, and laughed at Laviolette for getting so mad. We'd be pissed if it went the other way, but the hit was textbook (would love to put it in the Shanny thread in NPR for those that think if you stopped letting guys head hunt, it would turn into ice-capades). His guys initiated the fighting afterwards.

First shift he's out there next Saturday, someone has to kick the crap out of Rinaldo because he's going to be looking to injure someone. Schenn will probably also not have a pleasant game.

bhaw wrote:Lol... just realized Philly was being changed to "Capitals" automatically.

Admin's a funny guy!

Last week Coach Dan said the line changes from long island would be the ones going forth...didn't happen. This power play can't happen. I would rather see paul martin on a point than the five forwards.

I fully admit that this loss has me all shook up! Then you come here, and admin's giving me the gaslight treatment.

llipgh2 wrote:HCDB told Dave Molinari after the game he will use the 5 forward powerplay in the playoffs.

Why he is so stuck on something this doesn't work is beyond comprehension.

This is unbelieveable to me. I swear the Pens have given up a shorthanded chance every single time when they have used five forwards. Its a receipe for playoff disaster. If Bylsma actually does this and it burns the Pens in the playoffs, its a firable offense to me because its so moronic.

I'm really hoping this "sticking with 5-FWD" thing is a sick April Fool's joke. It should be clear that this isn't working, and it should be even clearer that Letang is what makes the PP work (as evidenced by what has happened during his numerous absences). I hope this decision was a knee-jerk reaction to the emotions he was obviously feeling after the game today and he'll change his mind over the next few days when he can think with a clear head.

EDIT: The filter is changing the word "t.hat" into "this" for some reason? I get the Fliers-to-Capitals thing but I'm just curious why changing "t.hat" into "this" would be funny?

Last edited by PhantomJB93 on Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

llipgh2 wrote:HCDB told Dave Molinari after the game he will use the 5 forward powerplay in the playoffs.

Why he is so stuck on something this doesn't work is beyond comprehension.

This is unbelieveable to me. I swear the Pens have given up a shorthanded chance every single time when they have used five forwards. Its a receipe for playoff disaster. If Bylsma actually does this and it burns the Pens in the playoffs, its a firable offense to me because its so moronic.

And Bylsma WILL be fired if the Pens do not advance beyond the first round this year. One playoff series win in three years will not be acceptable for this team. He needs to make some changes, and fast. This total collapse on defense will be their demise if not corrected.

Bottom line is we are 1 and 4 (so far) against the team we will probably face in the first round of the playoffs. Face it, they own us. Since we can't beat them on home ice, are we even sure we want home ice?

Will the team be able to gel and come together in the last three games? I think have proven they can, but it will take a total commitment to playing a better defensive effort by the whole team, not just the defensemen.

Playing like they have the last few games will likely lead to a first round loss. Gut check time this week. Might be an interesting practice tomorrow.

The defense flat-out sucks right now, and the power play is an abortion. The five-forward experiment is great in theory but is a liability in practice, and if Bylsma really goes through with it in the playoffs then he's crazier than I thought.

Pierre and Edzo should be ashamed of themselves, but it's clear from their body of work that they aren't capable of such an emotion.

Laviolette as well. What the heck does he think he's doing, responding to a clean hit like that? It's like coaching the Fly-boys makes you just as much of a jagoff as anybody else that's held the job.

The Pens are capable of beating anybody at their best, but if they play like this it's going to be a very short first round.

Pens were their own worst enemy against the Fliars this year. Good starts but sloppy, unmotivated play to end the games. Somehow I don't think motiviation will be a problem going forward.

What was Laviolette thinking putting Briere out there with a minute to go in a 6-3 game? And why have morons out there who will start a line brawl and lose after a clean hit? And then strat jawing at Granato? His sister Cami would give him more trouble than the pudgy bastard across the bench.

Laviolette may have just dug the Fliars grave here. On paper the pens are better, a pissed off Malkin and Crosby and a Kunitz who will wreck defenseman is not something I want to face.

In addition to the PP, HCDB needs to stop the line shuffling. I know going with the exact same lines every shift might not be the best idea, but I think I saw somewhere Crosby played with 6 different forwards before the game was even half over. We've gotten past the point of easing Sid back in and the lines should somewhat be solidified by now, yet, during the game today I couldn't even decipher if we had "lines"...we have a 4th line and then we have 9 other forwards who play musical chairs the whole game. There needs to be some kind of continuity.

The only 'positive' I take from this game is the realization that I (living in the 'burgh) won't have to listen to Peeair or Edzo do the games for the 1st round against the Flyers. From Edzo highlighting Jagr's blatant hook on Staal leading to Giroux's goal as a great play to Peeair actually referring to a player that cheap-shots the best player in the world with an unnecessary cross-check (who happens to be coming back from multiple concussions) as a great 'character' player, they've shown nothing but contempt for the Pen's organization. I can't come up with any other explanation. It's embarrassing for NBC, and the entire NHL.

PhantomJB93 wrote:In addition to the PP, HCDB needs to stop the line shuffling. I know going with the exact same lines every shift might not be the best idea, but I think I saw somewhere Corsby played with 6 different forwards before the game was even half over. We've gotten past the point of easing Sid back in and the lines should somewhat be solidified by now, yet, during the game today I couldn't even decipher if we had "lines"...we have a 4th line and then we have 9 other forwards who play musical chairs the whole game. their needs to be some kind of continuity.

Ya I agree with this. Maybe sqeeze the odd double shift in there but the lines need to be more stable. And what the heck is wrong with splitting Crosby and Geno on the pp. Jordan would get pp time with one of them, and there is no possible way it could be worse than the five forwards experiment. That's just brutal, really. It will come back to haunt them, no doubt in my mind, unfortunately.